Smithfield and Johnston County's first radio station came to be when Fred Horton who operated a dental laboratory in Wilson, noticed the lack of a radio station in the Johnston County seat in his frequent travels to the community. He applied for a station on the frequency of 910, but was granted a construction permit for a 1,000-watt station at 1270 AM. On August 2nd, 1950, WLNJ "Newsradio" signed on the air, broadcasting from a tower purchased from WWDC in Washington, DC. By 1951, the station was known as WMPM. Hurricane Hazel destroyed the station's tower in 1954, but they were soon on the air again with the construction of a new tower. In 1958, the station was granted a power increase to 5,000 watts. On March 8th, 1961, WMPM began broadcasting at the increased power level. Today, WMPM is well-known as a Johnston County-oriented station with family-friendly classic country tunes, some Southern gospel music and a heavy emphasis on local news. On November 1st, 2007, North Carolina Hall of Fame Broadcaster Carl Lamm and the programming so well known to long-time WMPM listeners shifted to 1090 AM, WTSB, which the Lamm family had recently purchased. Lamm still retained some ownership in WMPM however. With the programming's shift to 1090 AM, WMPM briefly left the air before returning with a mix of classic country and oldies from the 1960s and '70s. In November 2008, the Lamm's bought WMPM outright and began simulcasting WTSB on the 1270 frequency, until the station's new Christian format debuted in the spring of 2009.